FINAL FANTASY is Rising while World of Warcraft is Falling?

PHOTO ARCHIVE. Chinese theater during the premiere of "Warcraft".

in Hollywood, California. © AFP / VALERIE MACON

Blizzard thought it had a monopoly on World of Warcraft. But PR disasters and wayward streamers have allowed Final Fantasy XIV to challenge them for the crown of the online multiplayer genre.

The world of Azeroth has endured many attempts to destroy it, but perhaps it has finally found its match.

Blizzard's World of Warcraft has been the king of the massively multiplayer online (MMO) genre for nearly two decades, but the head in the crown is starting to weigh heavily. According to Activision-Blizzard's Q1 2021 financial statements, Blizzard has lost 29% of its total active player base over the past three years.

Two million gamers have reportedly left Blizzard's games portfolio since the company released its Q4 2020 results. And it all comes after a series of massive PR disasters caused by "Blizzardvision" (as some call it). players). myself

Once "the gold standard of gaming", Blizzard seems to have steadily declined following its merger with Activision. Everything from the disastrous unveiling of Diablo: Immortal – the mobile game that drew backlash among Blizzcon fans – to the suspension of top Hearthstone player Blitzchung for supporting Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. , marred a previously flawless campaign. Additionally, reports of poor working conditions and mass layoffs led to a drop in company morale.

But nothing seems to hurt Blizzard more than World of Warcraft's thin expansions, which longtime players have called "lazy" and "stealing money." The most recent expansion of the game - Shadowlands - has fooled many players. Not only in terms of the lack of story, but Blizzard's drive to make the game accessible to casual gamers and mobile users is starting to have a very negative effect on the hardcore gamer base.

However, nothing seems to have had a greater impact than World of Warcraft's biggest streamer, Osmongold, moving from WoW to Final Fantasy XIV .

Asmongold, which has more than two million subscribers on Twitch and 689,000 on YouTube, sparked a mass exodus to rival MMOs when it began streaming publisher Square Enix's 11-year-old game. As former lead World of Warcraft developer Mark Kern said on Twitter:

It's said to be a Blizzard leak to the current state of WoW.

This could be wrong, but the described attitude towards monetization and how developers turn to gamers and hate streamers mostly applies to AAA developers. https://t.co/tUmdG6EtLI

— Grummz (@Grummz) July 13, 2021

“When Osmongold started exploring alternatives to WoW, interviewing Final Fantasy content creators, and eventually streaming itself, Blizzard didn't know or believe what was going on. THEY were a monopoly.

Osmangold was also shocked by the large number of viewers his Final Fantasy stream drew. He also underestimated the number of disgruntled and interested alt WoW players."

It's important to note that in the world of streaming, gamers quickly jump on the next "hottest" trend to attract viewers to their stream. And with Asmongold "strike gold" from Final Fantasy XIV, the game saw a huge influx of "WoW refugees".

So much so that Final Fantasy XIV began breaking the record for most concurrent players on Steam. However, her sudden popularity was not without its problems. Many players find the game servers to be constantly full, making it difficult to connect and play. Final Fantasy's European servers are also full, and the game's free trial puts players in an "infinite queue ".

But the sudden surge in popularity of Final Fantasy XIV with the transition from World of Warcraft shows one very important thing: Blizzardvision has taken World of Warcraft fans for granted, and gamers have begun to rebel.

Never before has World of Warcraft experienced such a backlash. Now the real question is, can the game survive? According to Mark Kern, the answer is most likely no:

The move from WoW to Final Fantasy XIV has nothing to do with being the best game.

It all has to do with how the company treated its fans because they thought they had an invincible monopoly.

— Grummz (@Grummz) July 19, 2021

"WoW's move to Final Fantasy XIV has nothing to do with which game is better. It has to do with how the company treated its fans because they thought they had an invincible monopoly.

No matter how you look at it, World of Warcraft and Blizzard are fighting to survive.

do you like this story Share with a friend!

SOURCE: World of Warcraft dies... and was killed by Final Fantasy